What is Ebola virus disease?
Ebola is the common name given to the disease rare but serious and often fatal caused by Ebola virus infection.
What are the symptoms of Ebola?
The most frequent symptoms are:
How is the disease transmitted?
Human transmission of the Ebola virus can occur through direct contact of the skin and ocular, nasal, oral and genital mucous membranes with the virus.
Person-to-person transmission usually occurs through contact with:
- blood, vomiting, urine, faeces, saliva or semen of infected, dead or live persons
- surfaces, objects, or clothing contaminated with fluids from patients or people who have died from Ebola
- contact unprotected sexual with semen from men who have recovered from the disease
Transmission from animals to humans can occur through:
- direct contact with blood and other bodily fluids of animals carrying the disease
- Ingestion of meat from infected animals
- Handling an infected animal
What is the incubation period of the virus?
The incubation period of the Ebola virus can vary between 2 and 21 days after exposure to the virus.
Which groups are at risk of Ebola infection?
The risk of infection is higher for those who are in direct contact with blood or body fluids of infected people, namely:
- health workers who have close contact with Ebola patients
- cohabitants with an infected patient
The risk of Ebola virus infection is not high, even for those living in or travelling to areas affected by the virus, unless there is direct exposure to bodily fluids of infected people or animals, dead or alive, or to contaminated surfaces, objects and clothing.
What are the complications of the disease?
Usually at a more advanced stage, Ebola virus infection disease can cause:
- appearance of blemishes on the skin
- Alteration of state of consciousness
- chest pain
- hepatic insufficiency
- renal insufficiency
- profuse internal and external bleeding
Who is at risk of developing these complications?
The risk of complications from infection is higher for people with weakened immune systems (immunocompromised), but it also depends on the virulence of each of the six species of the Ebola virus.
Can pregnant women develop pregnancy complications?
yes. Women pregnant women infected with the Ebola virus, have a higher risk of preterm labor, miscarriage, stillbirth, and pregnancy-related bleeding complications.
Are children born to women infected with the Ebola virus infected?
yes. Children born to women with Ebola virus disease in its symptomatic form (with symptoms) become infected (mother-to-child transmission). Mother-to-foetus infection has a high mortality rate.
Is it possible to prevent infection with the Ebola virus?
yes. It is possible to prevent the transmission of the disease by adopting different behaviors, especially if you live or travel to a country affected by the virus:
- Avoid contact with:
- patients or corpses infected with Ebola
- animals that may be carriers of the Ebola virus (such as bats, chimpanzees, monkeys)
- avoiding unprotected sex
- wash and disinfect your hands regularly
- Wash and cook all food thoroughly
Is there a vaccine to prevent Ebola infection?
yes. There is Ebola vaccine that is indicated in specific cases, usually in professionals who work directly with the Ebola virus.
How is the disease diagnosed?
The initial symptoms of the disease are common to several other diseases, so it is necessary to associate the epidemiological criteria (having been in an area with Ebola virus activity for less than 21 days or in contact with sick people) with the clinical criteria by searching for symptoms and carrying out tests to screen for the presence of the virus.
If clinical and epidemiological criteria are suspected, the person should be isolated and the public health authorities should be informed.
What is the treatment for the disease?
Treatment consists primarily of supportive measures such as hydration, medication for diarrhoea, vomiting and pain.
There are different classes of drugs (antivirals and monoclonal antibodies) that can be considered as adjuncts (adjuvants) to treatment.
Patients infected with the Ebola virus have to be isolated in special rooms with limited access, and additional safety measures are needed to prevent transmission, which include the use of personal protective equipment for health workers.
Are there any countries affected by the Ebola virus?
You can consult the information on the geographical areas affected, updated by the World Health Organization (WHO).
What should I do if I think I'm infected?
If you have returned less than 21 days ago from an area affected by an outbreak and have one or more of the symptoms described, do not travel and avoid contact with others and immediately call SNS 24 – 808 24 24 24 and describe your symptoms, stating which country you returned from.
Should a suspected or confirmed case of Ebola virus disease be isolated from other patients?
yes. Any suspected or confirmed case of Ebola virus disease should be isolated from contact with other patients and avoid any physical contact of that person with other people.
If you have a fever and/or other symptoms of Ebola infection, contact SNS 24 – 808 24 24 24, mention your recent trip and convey your complaints.
If symptoms develop during the return flight on the aircraft, you should inform the crew immediately. The same procedure applies on sea voyages.
Source: Directorate-General for Health (DGS)